We're seeing more evidence that the vaccines are faring well -- even amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of recent COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County found that unvaccinated people were five times as likely to get infected and 29 times as likely to end up in the hospital as fully vaccinated people.
The median age of fully vaccinated patients was 64; for unvaccinated patients, the media age was 49.
"We gave people who are older the vaccine first. So if there’s waning immunity, those who are older are maybe getting into waning immunity," said Dr. Monica Gandhi. an infectious disease expert and professor of medicine at UC San Francisco.
Gandhi added that it is normal for older people to need additional vaccines.
"We know that older people aren’t able to mount as vigorous an immune response as younger [people]. This is why we give higher flu vaccine doses, this is why we give people extra shots when they are older,” Gandhi said.
According to her, waning immunity may sway who public health officials decide are in need of a third COVID-19 vaccine dose.
“You will find that when we think about prioritization of people, the next group after immunocompromised people for a third shot. Those who are nursing, those who are older, should come next,” she said.
The report also showed that as Delta became dominant in the county the likelihood of infection among fully vaccinated people went up.
Gandhi said breakthrough cases are no longer rare and that may "feel disappointing." Still, she added the vaccines do protect against infection and remain highly effective at preventing serious illness.
Related
